Category: Fiction

Nightbird

March 23, 2015 Fantasy, Fiction, Magical Realism, Review 8 ★★★★

NightbirdTitle: Nightbird
Author: Alice Hoffman
Source: from publisher for review
Links: Bookshop (affiliate link) |Goodreads
Rating:four-stars

Summary: Cute, short, light, with a very fairy tale feel. I enjoyed this a lot, but wish the author had take the time to develop the plot further.

“Twelve-year-old Twig’s town in the Berkshires is said to hide a winged beast, the Monster of Sidwell, and the rumors draw as many tourists as the town’s famed pink apple orchards. Twig lives in the orchard with her mysterious brother James and her reclusive mother, a baker of irresistible apple pies. Because of a family secret, an ancient curse,Twig has had to isolate herself from other kids. Then a family with two girls, Julia and Agate, moves into the cottage next door. They are descendants of the witch who put the spell on Twig’s family. But Julia turns out to be Twig’s first true friend, and her ally in trying to undo the curse and smooth the path to true love for Agate and James.” (source) Read more »

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Mistress Firebrand

March 18, 2015 Fiction, Historical Fiction, Review, Romance 6 ★★★★

Mistress FirebrandTitle: Mistress Firebrand
Author: Donna Thorland
Source: from publisher for review
Links: Bookshop (affiliate link) |Goodreads
Rating:four-stars

Summary: The romance and other plot elements were both enjoyable and complemented one another in a great way.

Jenny has always wanted to be famous for her plays, but had resigned herself to a background role until she has the opportunity to present her work to the playwright General John Burgoyne. British intelligence officer Severin Devere is concerned that Jenny will simply be a distraction for the womanizing general and during his efforts to control the situation is surprised to find himself falling for Jenny instead. Unfortunately, as Severin maintains his steadfast loyalty to the crown and Jenny begins to achieve fame writing propaganda for the rebels, they find themselves torn between their loyalties in the war and their loyalty to each other.
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Books With Interesting Female Protagonists in Mini-Reviews

March 16, 2015 Fiction, Historical Fiction, Review, Romance, Thriller, Women's Fiction 8 ★★★

Books With Interesting Female Protagonists in Mini-ReviewsTitle: A Small Indiscretion
Author: Jan Ellison
Links: Bookshop (affiliate link) |Goodreads
Rating:three-stars

The main character of A Small Indiscretion is interesting in that she’s unlikeable, which seems to be the buzzword for female characters these days. Unfortunately, while I do want to see a diversity of both male and female characters, I don’t care if they’re unlikeable or not. What I want is for them to be understandable. Unlike Grace in Unbecoming, Annie has no explanatory backstory or clear motives driving her actions. This made her decisions, especially the ones I disagreed with or found stupid or selfish, hard to put up with. This book’s saving grace was that it did make me curious. As much as I wanted to shake Annie and ask her what she thought she was doing, I wanted to find out her whole story even more. It wasn’t my favorite read though and if you’re looking for an unlikeable or just different female protagonist, I think there are better books you could start with.

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Well Written Fiction in Mini-Reviews

March 14, 2015 Fantasy, Fiction, Review 24 ★★★

Well Written Fiction in Mini-ReviewsTitle: Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell
Author: Susanna Clarke
Links: Bookshop (affiliate link) |Goodreads
Rating:three-stars

 

This book isn’t just well written, but well written in a unique way. The style of the writing reminded me a bit of Charles Dickens, if Dickens wrote about magic. This writing style contributed to setting the scene and made me feel as though I was in nineteenth century England. However, I’m still going to offer what may be an unpopular opinion of this much-beloved book and say that it really dragged for me. It took a long time for anything exciting to happen and even when interesting things were going on, the writing style, though enjoyable, didn’t convey any sense of urgency or excitement. I was also disappointed that the book didn’t give any explanations for how magic works. The writing made this book feel as though it could itself be one of the magician’s memoirs the characters consult and it would have been enjoyable to learn something about the technical aspects of magic in this world. Although personally, I was mostly just excited to finish this book, I can definitely see the appeal of the writing and recommend checking out the many more positive opinions out there before making up your mind about this book. Read more »

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Unbecoming

February 16, 2015 Fiction, Review, Thriller, Women's Fiction 20 ★★★★

UnbecomingTitle: Unbecoming
Links: Bookshop (affiliate link) |Goodreads
Rating:four-stars

Summary: A fascinating story which stars a complex, relatable female character and has a satisfying, slow buildup of  tension.

At Julie’s job restoring jewelry and knick-knacks, nothing is what it seems – including Julie. In fact, her name is actually Grace and she’s not from California as she claims. Instead she’s from the small town whose newspaper she checks every night, waiting to hear that two young men who went to jail for a crime Grace planned have been paroled. Once they are, she knows it’s just a matter of time until they come for her. What she doesn’t know is whether or not they’ve forgiven her betrayal. Read more »

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War and Peace Read-Along Week 1

February 10, 2015 Blogger Events, Classics, Fiction 16

war and peace read-a-long

Since I read and loved Anna Karenina, I’ve been wanting to give War and Peace a try. Although I was nervous it was going to be mostly about battles and not have any characters I could love as much as Anna, this read-along hosted by Hanna at Booking in Heels gave me the push I needed to give it a chance. So far, like everyone else, I’m enjoying this far more than I expected. Even more surprisingly, Tolstoy is reminding me of Austen in a great way. This might be me projecting my own amusement at the way the characters behave, but I feel like Tolstoy is laughing behind his hand at their antics too which is a feeling I often get when reading Austen. Read more »

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Of Things Gone Astray

February 8, 2015 Fiction, Magical Realism 18 ★★★★

Of Things Gone AstrayTitle: Of Things Gone Astray
Author: Janina Matthewson
Source: TLC Book Tours
Links: Bookshop (affiliate link) |Goodreads
Rating:four-stars

Summary: The style of this story was perfection – cute, whimsical, happy – but the ending trailed off in a way that made the plot unsatisfying.

“On a seemingly normal morning in London, a group of people all lose something dear to them, something dear but peculiar: the front of their house, their piano keys, their sense of direction, their place of work. Meanwhile, Jake, a young boy whose father brings him to London following his mother’s sudden death, finds himself strangely attracted to other people’s lost things. But little does he realize that his most valuable possession, his relationship with his father, is slipping away from him.” (source) Read more »

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Best European Fiction 2015

January 29, 2015 Fiction, Literary, Review 14 ★★★★

Best European Fiction 2015Title: Best European Fiction 2015
Author: Enrique Vila-Matas
Source: NetGalley
Links: Bookshop (affiliate link) |Goodreads
Rating:four-stars

 

I love unique translated fiction and wanted to add more diversity to my reading in 2015, so this collection of European fiction was the perfect first read of the year. This collection includes stories by authors from many different European countries, most of it translated and most stand-alone short stories. The few excerpts from longer works were also enjoyable and easily stood on their own. Read more »

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The Ship of Brides

January 27, 2015 Fiction, Historical Fiction, Review 18 ★★★★

The Ship of BridesTitle: The Ship of Brides
Author: Jojo Moyes
Source: from publisher for review
Links: Bookshop (affiliate link) |Goodreads
Rating:four-stars

Summary: This was an enjoyable read, but I didn’t feel as connected to the characters as I have in Moyes’ other books.

“The year is 1946, and all over the world, young women are crossing the seas in the thousands en route to the men they married in wartime – and an unknown future. In Sydney, Australia, four women join 650 other brides on an extraordinary voyage to England, aboard the HMS Victoria, which also carries not just arms and aircraft but 1,000 naval officers and men. Rules of honour, duty, and separation are strictly enforced, from the aircraft carrier’s captain down to the lowliest young stoker. But the men and the brides will find their lives intertwined in ways the Navy could never have imagined.” (Source) Read more »

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Review: First Frost

January 22, 2015 Fiction, Magical Realism, Review, Women's Fiction 14 ★★★

Review: First FrostTitle: First Frost
Author: Sarah Addison Allen
Source: NetGalley
Links: Bookshop (affiliate link) |Goodreads
Rating:three-stars

 

In First Frost, we revisit the Waverly family from Garden Spells. Claire has started a candy business she’s proud of, but can’t see that it’s also keeping her too busy to enjoy life. Her sister Sydney is also having trouble enjoying the happiness she has, instead desperately wanting a baby boy. And Sydney’s daugher Bay has lost her heart to a boy who doesn’t seem to know she exists. All three women hope that their troubles are simply part of the restlessness that afflicts Waverly women before the first frost of the year, but they’ll have to take matters into their own hands if they want to regain their happiness. Read more »

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